Convertible studio bed



July 4, 1944. w. P. MARGULIES ,9

I CONVERTIBLE STUDIO BED Filed Jan. 1, 1942 3' Sheets-Sheet 1 v INVENTOR v WALTER 7? MARGUL/[S Patented July 4, 1944 Walter P. Marg ulies, Forest :Ilill's 'N,Yfassign0r V to Hotels Statlei" Company, Inc., New York.

Y., a corporationof Nw York I Application January 1, 1942, Serial N0. 425,275

' 2 C im The invention relates'to combination sofa beds. It is an object of my invention to provide an improved type of convertible sofa bed which is especially'adapted for use in hotels and apartments. and which offers all of the advantages of regulation sizebeds inaddition to providing a comfortable sofa.

Another obje'ct'of my invention istdproiride a bed having a full size one-piecemattress and a full size fixed-position spring in combination with means for converting the bed into a seat of sofa-depth with a comfortableback-rest.

A further object is to provide an articleof furniture of the class described which is convertible from bed to sofa, or vice versa; without the necessity of rearranging bedding, and without moving the piece away from"thewali.'

A stillfurther object is to provide, in combination with a fullsize single bed, a movable backrest which is so .c onst'ru'cted and arranged asto be movable into a position which reduces the area of the bed to thatpof a sofa, while at. the same time providing a broad fiat surface extending rearwardly of the back-rest in position to serve as ashelfJ I Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description proceeds. I

In the drawings, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of .the invention:

Fig.1 is a perspective view of a sofa bed or studio bed as arranged for use as asofa. 1

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are vertical transverse crosssectional views of this preferred embodiment of my invention, Fig. 2 showing the sofa arrangement, Fig. 3 the bed arrangement, and Fig. 4 an intermediate position of the sofa back-rest during the process of converting the sofa into a full size single bed. 7 i g Figs. 5 and 6 .are plan viewsof the same embod-iment arranged respectively as sofa and bed. Figs. '7 and 8 are detail sectional views taken as indicated at 'l-'! and 8-8 in Figs. 2 and 3,

respectively. r

' One of the principal problems in providing a thoroughly satisfactory studio or sofa bed .has been to achieve in a single articleoffurniture a sofa presenting a seat of normal depth .01 seating area which can .be converted into .abed of :fullwidth or sleeping. area. Falling short of this goal, many compromises haveibeen madein debed (Fig.2).

rangements the mattress, and springs m s be f l e and in e s t e, onversion, which arrangement I is .cumbersomegto handle, and required -;separate;,storage of -the beddin Anot e -.c0mp om s 1ha e a ni the bed a littlenarrower and the seatga little deeper, which .results .iin'a sofa'which is uncomfortable, andin abedof less than, adequate-Width. .In accordancev with-,my invention,- a width single bed can be quickly andgeasiiy eonverted into a sofa having a seat. ofnormai depth (front to back) without disturbing thebed. .With refere'nce to the accompanying drawinsal shall .znow describe the .m-annerin which this. is accomplished. The studio'hed which; I. have shown -;for purposes of illustration comprisesin its. general arrangement airame l0 arrangedto accommodate abox spring =andmattresslt2, end boards I3, a longitudinally extending ibaicki-restl'li pivotally mounted as at-l5 to thaend boards I 3 by means of extended pivot arms ill-to swingabout a substantially horizonta1 axis dro'ma-substantially vertical position behind. the bed :(Fig. 3)

to an-inverted positio'n overlyinga portion of the The pivot axis is lecated forwardly am 1ongitudinal edge of the matt ess as clearlyshown. for example; in Fig; 2; and this arrangement of the pivot axis in onjunction withthe: projecting pivot members l'fi b'rings the back-rest {4 into an operative position above the mattressat-a sub-- stantial distance forwardly of the rearward longitudinal edge of the'matt ress; andin which all portions of the back rest lie forwardly of avertica'l plane which contains the rearward long? tudinal edge of the mattress; On the other hand, when the back rest is E into the position shown, in lifig. 3;.all'p rtionsof. the backgrestlie rearwardly of the rearward longitudinal edge; of the mattress, freeing'the full areajof the bed for reclining use.

. With particular. reierenc' eto 5 6, it -wi -b Warn- 5 in ention i is l e s b ov c ert a ll: s z lee Witt e f e -usea l .w th c E s-r .1a .s i ii hi hgth sea in a; a been ats a n m ldebih b; '(E r.- eta eat1 ilfsei -d an; Another --f.eature .of my ingvention'resi es in; the provision of a back-rest l4 and shelf member ll hinged: edge to edge. a a it t hatth hac rest and shelf, when'intli lpositionshown i -;E ig. 2, togetherv cover that .portionwofgthe area-. of =the bed which is not to be used for fieatingxp lr 'll ses In addition, this mangementiz prov-ides' a, convenient broad shelf or table area behind the sofa on which ash trays, glasses, magazines or other articles may be placed.

The shelf I1 is provided with guide members l9 (Fig. '7) projecting from each end for engagement with a guide slot which may conveniently be formed in the end boards 13. If desired, the members 19 may be provided with rollers 2| for engagement with the sides of the slots 20. These slots may, if desired, be lined with metal or other wear-resistant material.

It will be understood that the invention is applicable to various forms of frame constructions, so as to accommodate the desired type of spring and mattress. In the particular embodiment illustrated, I have shown a wood frame l0 having a heavy reinforced back member 22, front member 23 and the end boards l3 previously mentioned. Associated with the frame are means for supporting the mattress, such as the metal supporting elements 24 which are secured-to the frame in any desired manner, and on which rests the base 25 of the spring N. "If desired, the bed may be provided with casters 26 holding the bottom of the frame somewhat above the floor. The guiding slot 20 formed in the end boards I3 extend in a generally vertical direction. From the lowermost point'zL'the slotsextend upwardly and preferably slightly toward the rear, as best seen in Fig. 2, to a point 28 approximately midway between the ends of the slot, thence upwardly and preferably slightly to the front to a point 29 (Fig. 4) thence forwardly and preferably slightly downwardly to the end point 30. Thus, in my preferred construction, the slot is bowed rearwardly, and is formed with a shoulder 3| at its upper end. The rearwardly bowed construction of the slots guides the shelf member I! during the conversion from sofa to bed, or vice versa, in such a manner as to clear the rearward side of the mattress and bedding while at the same time keeping the edge 32 of the shelf member at all times forwardly of a vertical plane defined by the rearmost edge of the frame. The shoulder 3| serves to hold the back-rest and shelf steadily in the position shown in Fig. 2 when my article of furniture is made up as a sofa.

The pivotal mounting of the extended arms I6 of the back-rest to the end boards l3 preferably includes a mounting plate 33 which may be attached to the end boards in any convenient manner, as by means of screws. In the construction I have illustrated, this plate has a rearward extension 34 which may conveniently form a stop forcooperation with a flange 35 (Fig; 8) formed on each of the pivot arms l6 so that when the sofa is converted into a bed, as shown in Fig. 3, the flanges 35 of the pivot arms engage the rearward extensions 34 of the mounting plates 33 so that the weight of the back-rest and shelf are carried directly on the end boards. If desired, a stop may be provided for the back-rest to limit its movement in the opposite direction and support it when in the position shown in Fig. 2, although I prefer to permit the b ack-rest to rest directly on top of the bedding as shown. In this position it assists in holding the bedding in place at a point substantially forward of the rearward edge of the mattress, keeping the sofa smooth and neat. The end boards l3 may be of any desired configuration as, for example,being cut away forwardly of the sofa position of the back-rest to provide arm rests 36.

It is believed that the operation of my invention will be clear from the foregoing description, but the manner of converting from sofa to bed and vice versa may be briefly summarized as follows:

Let us assume that my article of furniture is made up as a sofa, as shown in Fig. 2, with the bedding covering the mattress and tucked in all around to make a smooth surface for seating purposes. When it is desired to convert the sofa into a bed, it is necessary only to slide the fingers beneath the lower edge of the back-rest and lift up in the direction indicated by the arrow 0 in Fig. 4. This automatically slides the guide members 19 off the shoulders 3| of the guide slots in the end boards, whereupon the shelf is guided downwardly so that upon completion of the full arc of movement d, it reaches the position shown in Fig. 3 in which the shelf is suspended in a substantially vertical position close to the rearward edge of the mattress with the under side of the back rest also in a substantially vertical position in line with, or slightly to the rear of, a vertical plane containing the rearward longitudinal edge of the mattress. This frees the entire area of the bed for reclining use. Then all that is required is to turn down the bedding.

The back-rest may be of any desired construction with a wood or plywood back upholstered in any suitable manner, as by means of applying thereto a fabric over a sponge rubber cushion. My construction is adaptable to varying thicknesses of bed coverings, for the back-rest simply swings down against the top of the bed, and there is sufficient clearance at the forward end of the slots 20 above the shoulder 3| to take care of a certain amount of variation in the forward posi tion of the back-rest.

In addition to the advantages heretofore enumerated, it will be observed that when the piece is made up as a bed, the smooth flat under surface of the back-rest forms a Wainscot which protects the wall, keeping it clean, and also keeping the upholstered portion of the back-rest clean and free from spots. This is very important in hotels where frequent redecoration of walls is necessary when the bed is placed against, or near, a wall.

The angle of inclination of the back-rest I4 is subject to variations without altering the essential purposes, operation, or advantages of my invention, as are also other details of the construction illustrated. I The terms and expressions which I have employed are used in a descriptive and not a limiting sense, and I have no intention of excluding such equivalents of the invention described, or of portions thereof, as fall within the purview of the claims.

I claim:

1. In an article of furniture of the class described, a frame arranged to accommodate a mattress, end boards, a longitudinally-extending back-rest fixedly pivoted to the end boards to swing about an axis located above the mattress, the pivot axis being a substantial distance from the plane of the back-rest, a shelf hinged to the back-rest, and guiding means including members connected to the shelf and slots fixed with respect to the end boards, said members having a slidable engagement with said slots and being arranged to bring the shelf into substantially horizontal position when the back-rest is in operative position and to bring the shelf into substantially vertical position below the back-rest when the back-rest is swung back into inverted position. I

2. In a convertible studio bed including a supporting frame and a mattress carried upon said frame, a back-rest and shelf hinged edge-to-edge,

the back-rest being pivotally mounted on the supporting frame to be swung from a position at the rear of the supporting frame into a position overlying the rear portion of the mattress, and the shelf being pivotally and slidably mounted on the 

